PAINKILLER tramadol will top the agenda at an International Olympic Committee sports medicine conference next month, with calls growing for it to be banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada).

The narcotic-like drug is used to treat moderate to severe pain but has become popular with some cyclists who take it to numb leg pain towards the end of a race.

But tramadol, has been blamed for causing crashes, as dizziness and drowsiness are among its side effects.

Former Cannondale-Drapac team doctor Prentice Steffen, who has just retired from professional cycling after 25 years on the circuit, was one of the first to raise the issue.

“Used in the right circumstances, it can be an effective painkiller — you get the numb, without the buzz,” Steffen said.

“But it became clear to me, and others, that it was being abused and team managers were asking if it could be the reason we seemed to be having more crashes. There was no data but that was the speculation, as it must slow reaction times.

“There are three criteria for [a ban] — is it against the spirit of sport, does it enhance performance and are there health implications?
“I would say it is yes, probably and yes for tramadol. So I’m mystified as to why Wada is still looking at it.”

But Steffen, who also instigated cycling’s adoption of a “no needles policy” in 2011, said cycling did not need to wait for Wada to act, as it could and should ban tramadol’s use in competition immediately.

The International Cycling Union first asked Wada to consider banning the drug in 2011 and it has been on the anti-doping agency’s monitoring list — a step short of the banned list — since 2012. Last month, Wada announced tramadol will stay on its monitoring list for 2017.